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Oculus launch-exclusive Adr1ft nows lets you get lost in space on HTC Vive

ICE Graveyard 28/07/2016Darrell Etherington

I’m going to put this right up front: Adr1ft isn’t for the weak of stomach. The virtual reality free-floating space survival sim left me a tad queasy, and I’m somewhere in the middle of the VR sickness sensitive spectrum. But for those looking to boldly barf where only Oculus Rift owners have barfed before, Adr1ft is launching on HTC Vive today.

Even if you might feel a little unsettled, though, I’d still encourage Vive owners to give Adr1ft a shot. The launch discount of 50 percent on Steam right now makes it easier to take a risk, but the experience really is like almost nothing else available to virtual pioneers currently. Plus, even though it’s initially difficult to get your bearings when you’re floating free and able to do some crazy acrobats thanks to positional jets on your virtual space suit, I imagine real life astronauts also have to power through some queasiness in order to experience the wonder and beauty of space.

And once adjusted (helped in no small part by a feature that allows you to reset your position within your virtual character’s space suit if things get too wild), what Adr1ft offers is a very real-feeling zero gee simulation. But it isn’t just about virtual physics – the voice acting and environments lend a genuine sense of urgency, loneliness and panic to the whole thing, too.

Truly effective immersive VR isn’t just about graphics, it’s about narrative and storytelling, and Adr1ft achieves that, so if you’re willing to weather some mild motion sickness, give it a spin.